Jun Qian's second volume of music by Chinese and Chinese-American composers.

Like volume one of East Meets West, this recording is a collection of new music for clarinet by Chinese composers who have lived, studied, and worked overseas. The compositions combine Chinese cultural elements with Western art music to create a unique intersection of cultures through the use of tone colors produced by the combination of clarinet with Chinese instruments, sound effects created with the use of both Chinese and Western musical forms and harmonic language, and a blend of classical and contemporary musical idioms. All the music on this recording was written or arranged for clarinetist Jun Qian. On the music faculty at Baylor University, Jun Qian is principal clarinetist of the Waco Symphony. Previously he was principal clarinetist of the Shanghai Philharmonic and studied at the Shanghai Conservatory and Eastman. He has concertized throughout China, and has performed and taught in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Canada.

Review:

"One of the marvels of this album is how the clarinet incorporates contemporary techniques to emulate sounds from ancient Chinese wind instruments…This album is dedicated to the memory of Baylor students Jack Stewart and Laura Onwudinanti, and Qian honors them with beautifully executed performances of new and important music linking two fertile musical cultures. His technique is very fine, and his tonal flexibility simulating the Chinese wind instrument sound world is always first rate." (The Clarinet)

“Qian sports an expressive character, decent technique, and a nice basic clarity; and he handles the glissandos and quarter tones very well…the supporting cast is very committed, and readers who have a keen curiosity about this will find much to like.” (American Record Guide)